ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - A Shawnee 8th grader is heading back to Washington, D.C., for her second straight trip to the national spelling bee.
Ope Balogun was presented with a plaque today by Lima City Councilman Derry Glenn for her accomplishment of winning the 2024 The Lima News Regional Spelling Bee for the second year in a row.
Ope and her family will be flying to Washington, D.C., on Sunday, May 26th, for a week's stay in the nation's capital for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. After going last year and finishing 141st out of 231 spellers, Ope is motivated to finish higher and bring home the hardware.
"I'm really excited. Ever since going to Washington, D.C., it's been like a dream to come back, and winning the spelling bee again has been my dream come true, so I'm really happy that I'm going back there again. I wanna do a lot better this year, maybe semi-finals, and I'm shooting to win; I'm aiming to win, so I hope that can happen too," stated Ope Balogun, Shawnee 8th grader and National Spelling Bee contestant.
Councilman Glenn is proud to recognize Ope's hard work to repeat and represent Lima on the national stage.
"Oh, it's exciting right now, you know—Lima. And she's here at Shawnee Middle School in the 8th grade with a 4-point average. That's great, and it's her second time, and I'm just loving it so much, and the family support that's great to see. And this is our future; Ope is our future, and one day Ope is gonna be running our state, and I'm gonna predict that, you know, but we're gonna make sure that she continues doing that. She's in the 8th grade, so we're gonna be here many, many times," stated Derry Glenn, Lima 6th Ward Councilman.
This year, Ope will be competing among 245 contestants across the country. Councilman Glenn has also donated a check to Ope's family for their trip to D.C.
